Badgers Roundtable - Iowa/Purdue

Trent Gruenwald, BadgerFans.com: "There’s a lot to choose from but the coaching staff deserves the recognition this week. They’ve taken a lot of heat from fans but the team came ready to play after an emotional win vs. Ohio State, they adjusted to a slew of injuries, and their aggressive play calls made the difference. Backups, like Montee Ball, were prepared to step in an contribute, UW moved the ball well when it emptied the backfield in the second half, and the decision to go for it on 4th and goal and the fake punt couldn’t have worked out better. -

Adam Hoge, Bucky’s 5th Quarter: "Bret Bielema always talks about “the next man in” and I always think about how the next man in usually isn’t as good as the player he is going in for. But on Saturday, we saw that philosophy work at two positions where UW always has depth: running back and tight end. With James White and Lance Kendricks out, Montee Ball and Jacob Pedersen/Jake Byrne stepped up and filled those voids to perfection. You have to feel good for Ball who is great kid and a hard worker. If White comes back healthy, it might be good to get Ball more involved as a receiver - a role he told me Saturday he would be open to."

Dave Heller: "Without echoing the above, I’ll mention the defense. What? OK, not really - but the defense came up big in the two situations it had to: After Scott Tolzien’s interception (holding Iowa to three points) and the last drive. Also, UW was 3-for-3 overall on fourth downs. Huge."

David Radcliffe, Balls, Brats and Beer: "I like Dave’s point about the defense. In the past, big stops were few and very far between. Every Badger fan was holding their breath on that last Iowa drive, and the D stepped it up. I’m just going to step back for a second ... can you believe Wisconsin pulled out both the Ohio State game and the Iowa game? If I were to tell you that the Badgers would come back from a loss and beat these two teams, I think you would gladly take it. Oh and by the way, that Michigan State loss doesn’t look all that bad."

WHAT WENT WRONG

Hoge: "I’d give the defense a “C” overall. Providing pressure from the side opposite of J.J. Watt continues to be a problem and I didn’t think the linebackers played all that well. But the unit did come up with stops in two critical situations. I thought it was important to force a three-and-out at the start of the second half and holding Iowa to field goal after Tolzien’s interception was probably the key to getting the win."

Gruenwald: "Yes the Badgers struggled to pressure Stanzi with its front four but in my mind the biggest thing that went wrong, even though its mostly luck, was injuries. UW was shorthanded heading into the game and losing White and Kendricks in the 1st half could have been disastrous."

Heller: "The defense really needs to put together a solid, overall game. If it continues to struggle, this is how and why UW has the possibility of being upset."

Radcliffe: "Thankfully, the Badgers were able to exploit Iowa’s defense pretty well because they couldn’t touch Ricky Stanzi. Personally wanted to see more pressure via the blitz but I guess things turned out okay in the end. Feels weird not mentioning special teams here again."

PLAYER OF GAME

Hoge: "Montee Ball was great, Gabe Carimi was great and plenty of other players made huge plays when it mattered most. But Wisconsin would not have won this game without Scott Tolzien. He made one mistake all game long - the interception - but some of his throws on Saturday were right on the money. The fake punt was huge, but let’s not forget about the other 4th-and-4 UW converted on that game-winning drive. Tolzien put that ball in the only place where it was going to be completed and Ball made a great catch."

Gruenwald: "Tozien is a good pick but I’m going with Ball. He hasn’t seen the field much with White’s emergence but he stepped in and made some HUGE plays. Wisconsin fans have to appreciate a guy that kept working even when things didn’t go his way. Ball’s fourth-down catch on UW’s final drive wasn’t easy and much more important than his touchdown run."

Radcliffe: "Nobody is talking about the man who led the team in rushing average, Brad Nortman. But in all seriousness, I can’t pick one player from this game to give the award, so I’m taking the whole team. Everyone stepped up for one another, especially Ball and the other tight ends. Those were two...make that three if you include Toon ... huge losses to injury and Bucky still prevailed. Impressive is an understatement."

LOOKING AHEAD - PURDUE

Hoge: "I have a feeling that we are going to hear phrases like “trap game” or “letdown game” in the next two weeks, but Bielema’s track record off bye weeks is very good. The Badgers outscored Purdue and Hawaii by a total of 88-10 last season coming off a bye and that included a 37-0 shutout over the Boilermakers."

Gruenwald: "Some people think this perfect timing for a bye week because it gives some banged up players some time to heal while others think it’s bad because it breaks up UW’s momentum. I think it’s great timing. While Purdue is set up to be a letdown game I think the coaching staff will have the team ready to play. I expect a comfortable win against a Purdue team that lost at home to Toldeo and might be playing its 6th string QB."

Heller: "Any Big Ten road game shouldn’t be taken lightly, I guess, but injuries at QB (particularly Robert Marve) and to stellar Keith Smith have hurt Purdue. Combine that with a poor pass defense and there’s a chance we’ll see Jon Budmayr play. The week off only helps UW get healthy and decompress after two emotional weeks."

Radcliffe: "Strange things happen on Halloween, and the Badgers won’t have to worry about that since they have the next week off. Purdue isn’t a team that scares me as far as a letdown game, especially after last week’s shellacking against Ohio State ... it’s Michigan that holds my attention. Get past the Boilers, and it’s potentially free sailing, seeing how the Badgers have hit their stride at the perfect time."